Portland forward Bright Dike (right, in red) scored the only goal in the Timbers 1-0 win against Colorado Friday night. The two teams play again Wednesday night at Colorado. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

BEAVERTON - The Portland Timbers' away games have become a little like the old movie, "Groundhog Day." The movie focused on a weatherman (Bill Murray) who finds himself in a time warp, reliving the same day over and over again.

The movie is similar to what the Timbers are dealing with when they travel to play road games this season - they lose over and over again.

The Timbers usually go into a road game with confidence after having won a game or produced a good performance, only to lose on the road. The same scenario presents itself when the Timbers play at Colorado Wednesday at Dicks Sporting Goods Park.

Riding a two-game winning steak, the Timbers are determined to rewrite the script and produce a different outcome.

"It's a challenge. At the moment, it's not down to their ability, it's down to their mentality. Mentally, we have to be a stronger team," said Gavin Wilkinson, Timbers general manager and interim coach. "If we can overcome the altitude and mental side of it, I think we're in for our first win."

Rewriting the script would mean the Timbers (7-13-6, 27 points) would defeat the Rapids, snapping the Timbers' oh-for-the-season winless streak in away games this season.

"The questions are raised again. If I said I wasn't tired of talking about it, I'd be lying," midfielder Jack Jewsbury said. "Two or three months ago, I was tired of talking about it."

The Timbers find themselves in the midst of playing their best stretch of soccer this season. They are 2-1-2 in their last five games and posted their first shutout in 16 games after winning 1-0 against Colorado (8-17-2, 26 points) Friday. A win Wednesday night would also be their third straight victory, which would be the longest winning streak in their MLS franchise history.

The clean sheet was the source of pride for the Timbers, whose defense has been the subject of ridicule at times during the season. The center back tandem of David Horst and Hanyer Mosquera and outside backs Steven Smith and Kosuke Kimura combined to help give goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts his first shutout in a Portland uniform.

"They had one good chance with a ball into (Omar) Cummings that we should've done a little bit better with," Wilkinson said. "Apart from that, they didn't create a lot of open opportunities."

That was last week, the two wins occurred at home and the Timbers are looking to prove that their solid defensive performance was no fluke by producing a sequel on the road, where the Timbers have faced multiple problems this season.

The Timbers have allowed 25 away goals, second-worst in the Western Conference and their away goal differential of -19 is the worst in MLS. The Timbers have allowed 14 goals in their last five away games and the defense was awful during their 3-0 loss the last time they visited Colorado June 30.

"Now we have to prove we can do it again defensively," left back Steven Smith said, referring to the shutout against the Rapids Friday. "It's one thing to play well once, but the good clubs have the ability to play well consistently."

The home-and-home series adds a new subplot to the game. Colorado outplayed Portland in the second half of Friday's game, giving the Rapids a boost of confidence.

"In the second half against Colorado, we didn't really put our foot on the ball. We didn't get our midfielders as involved as I would have liked," Wilkinson said. "Again, that was another little bit of a learning curve for us."

Portland has allowed seven goals in the first 15 minutes of games this season, tied for second-highest in the league. But they haven't conceded an early goal since their 5-0 loss at Dallas July 21.

"The first 15 minutes will dictate how the game will go. It's very important that we come out and we look to dominate the game, create a little rhythm and keep the ball," Wilkinson said. "I think we're a better team when we keep the ball and keep the ball moving. We're not a good team when we just defend."

Wilkinson hopes the Timbers will bring their strong performances at home onto the field in Colorado.

"It's going to be very important for us to come out of the gate - as we did against New York - and try to dominate the game and go with momentum," Wilkinson said. "It's important that we don't sit back and we don't camp in our half and look to see if we can control the ball and play the same way on the road that we do at home."

Notes: The Timbers have scored the first goal in each of their last four games. …Darlington Nagbe has recorded a goal or assist in four consecutive games, he can tie the team's MLS-franchise record of five consecutive games with a point set by Jack Jewsbury during the 2011 season. …Portland will be missing defender/midfielders Lovel Palmer (Jamaica) and Rodney Wallace (Costa Rica), along with defender Steve Purdy (El Salvador) for the game. All three were called up for national team duty. …Palmer's Jamaica team will face the United States in a home-and-home series Sept. 7 (in Kingston, Jamaica) and Sept. 11 (in Columbus, Ohio). …Colorado forward Omar Cummings (Jamaica) was called up for national team and will miss Wednesday's game.